Attacks Against Us

If you have been reading the Prayer Coach Blog for awhile, you know my family and I moved to China to help teenage orphan girls. About two months ago, we had our first set of girls join us. It has been a wonderful learning experience and time of watching a dream come true.

Just recently some people were trying to send these girls away from us. God never said trying to follow Him would be easy, but He did promise to be with us in the process.

These people are other leaders here not with our organization. They were working with some people that had an opportunity that could fit a similar target audience as the girls we had. They felt these other people had a better opportunity for our girls than what we were doing, so they began telling us we needed to send them away to this other group.

This kind of stuff happens all the time. Some people will tell you how to do your job, how to raise your kids, who you need to vote for, etc. These people don’t know where their responsibility ends and yours starts.

I’m not saying that this other opportunity was bad or that ours is better. I do know that God led us to China to help teenage orphan girls. He had opened doors for us all along the ways – helping us set up a business, giving us a farm, and sending us these two girls. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know that He will give us the grace to be exactly what these two girls need.

The Best Approach to Spiritual Warfare

Here is how this relates to spiritual warfare: the enemy wants you to forget your authority and to unintentionally give more authority to him. I’m not saying these other leaders were acting demonic or had evil intent. I truly believe they thought their way was best.

When it comes to spiritual warfare, we too often attack the demonic on their level. We tell them to leave. We break lines of communication. We attack their areas of strongholds. We come to their level and fight by definite lines of battle.

As a foreigner leaving someone else’s country, I have subjected myself to the ways of this culture. As an American I have been taught that everyone has the right of free speech. Here the government believes that there are some things people do not have the freedom to say. This is their country and their responsibility to decide what is allowed, but since I live here I need to limit what I say. I can’t claim that being an American makes me exempt of their laws.

For me to come here and say everything that I think they are doing wrong is unwise and not my place. I have not been given the grace to run this country. When we step out of our grace into someone else’s responsibility, we threading in dangerous waters.

In spiritual warfare our grace is found in heaven.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-2).

When we focus on the demonic and what they are doing, we are allowing them to control the battle. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19). This means He didn’t see the demonic and think, ‘I need to do something.’ He spent His days focused on things above. Then spoke and acted when He saw the Father move.

The heart of the Father is to set the captives free, but we don’t do it on His behalf… we see how He wants to do it. We are not going to have more compassion on someone than He has for them. We don’t need to try and impress Him by bringing about His will; instead once we get His heart, we just say, ‘here I am, Lord. Send me.”

When we fight the enemy directly, it makes us tired and angry. This is not the fruit of the spirit. The enemy is willing to get wounded and beat up in battle if only to get you to move out from under the protection of love. To fight on his level moves you out of the grace of being seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Satan and the demons were kicked out of heaven. If you keep your heart and mind on things above, they can’t touch you.

Know who you are. Know your authority and where the grace of God is in your life. Then trample any demon that gets in your way. This is the best approach to spiritual warfare.

I really haven’t read any books on this topic. I would believe there are some out there. From the sermons I have heard him preach, I think Kris Vallotton’s book, Spirit Wars, may be one. Hope this helps.